The Bottle

A bottle of beer, a jug of wine

May ease your pain tonight

But what about tomorrow

When you have to face daylight?

When all your troubles reappear

And your life's a living hell

Your aching head, your tortured soul

The doubts that in you dwell.

The bottle holds no cure for these

It can only hurt your life

It can take away your self-respect

It can make you lose your wife.

It can cause your children agony

It can only bring you pain

Till, caught in this vicious circle

You start all over again.

That's the way the misery starts

I'll tell you how it ends

You wind up in the gutter

With no money and no friends.

The pain you've caused your loved ones

Makes you break right down and cry

With nothing left to live for

You wish that you might die.

So don't turn to the bottle, friend

For I know all to well

How It can tear your heart to shreds

And make life a living hell.

Not just for you --- but those you love

Your family and your friends

It can leave you with a scar for life

And a heart that never mends.

Though it may seem like an easy out

It doesn't work that way

You'll find for you, and those you love

It's a terrible price to pay.

 Pearl E. Cain